"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
The question I like to ask my students is... "When do you practice?" Pretty much their response is after school or in the evening. So, we work with that and for sure I can hear their progress with the ones who diligently practice. However, what I found with homeschoolers and older adult students is that early morning practice is the best!
Here are a few important reasons why morning practice works:
Sleep affects the learning of a fine motor skill in a very positive way.
Morning practice is not as forgotten as our busy day unfolds.
The discipline of morning practice establishes good proactive habits in other areas, too.
You're mentally alert, in a better mood and have peace.
Family members can hear you practice and make beautiful music.
What I have found to be true is doing a habit pattern over and over becomes built into the brain and you are more likely to keep up the new behavior... and that's a very good thing!
Here are a few approaches to practicing:
Make the quiet parts of the song as quiet as can be and the loud parts real loud.
Choose a song and count the rhythm quietly or aloud while you play.
Pick the hardest part of the song and play it at least three times in a row.
Play an easy song faster.
Some of my kiddos enjoy playing these chord progressions in their left hand:
FC / GD / AE / CG
Perhaps you will combine notes from the D Minor 5 Finger Pattern with these L.H. Chords:
DA / CG / BbF / CG
Another fun approach is having the right hand play a Pentascale while the left-hand plays the perfect octave interval as eighth notes. Start on C, move to F, back to C, then G to F. Try this in all the keys following the I - IV- V chords.
Congratulate yourself for having achieved what you set out to do! Now, let's take a look at an easy tutorial video on YouTube for Silent Night.
A great teaching video, Christmas Keys1, is a game changer. Here's what's inside:
Discover the power of "inversions" and how changingone note in your chord can totally alter the way a progression sounds!Beginners: How to play an entire song with only three-fingeredmajor chords (...also known as "major triads").How to add fuel to your bass by understandinghow "power" chords work in holiday music.Discover the power of "walk-downs" with basic primary chords(...you'll learn this in "Silent Night")!How to sneak in "filler 13th chords" on your right handto keep your holiday songs sounding full at all times.
Happy Playing!
~ LadyD
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King
There's a cool song I like to play that's moderately slow in C. Merry Christmas, Darling was written by Richard Carpenter and the lyrics by Hank Pooler in 1970. It has a Rubato feel in 4/4 time. Later on, Richard's sister recorded the song with her great vocals that I especially like. You can read more, here.
Here I am playing this popular song on my Motif ES8 on a Chorus Dyno voice setting. You'll find the first arrangement taken from some sheet music I have and the latter charts I found online.
1. Merry Christmas Darling
Dm7 Em Am7
Greeting cards have all been sent
Dm7 G7 C
The Christmas rush is through
Am Am(maj7) Am7 Am6
But I still have one wish to make
Dm7 G
A special one for you
Cmaj7 Dm/C
Merry Christmas, darling
Cmaj7 Gm7 C7
We're apart, that's true
F G/F
But I can dream
Em Am
And in my dreams
Dm Em Dm/F G7
I'm Christmas ing with you
Cmaj Dm7/F
Holidays are joyful
Cmaj Gm
There's always something new
F G/F Em Am
But every day's a holi day
D7/F# Fm Bb7
When I'm near to you
Eb F/Eb
The lights on my tree
Dm7 Gm
I wish you could see
Cm7 F7 Bb
I wish it every da-A-A-A-ay
( ahh ahh
Gm Gm(maj7)
The logs on the fire
ahh ahh
Gm7 G7
Fill me with de sire
C F Em Dm7
To see you and to say
G Cmaj7 Dm/C
That I wish you Merry Christmas
(Merry christmas darling)
Cmaj7 Gm7 C7+7
Happy New Year to-o-o-o
( ahh ahh ahh
F G/F
I've just one wish
Em7 Am7
On this Christmas Eve
Em7 Am7
( On this Christmas eve)
Dm7 G7 Bb7
I wish I were with you
( Ahh ahh ahh
Dm Dm(maj7)
The logs on the fire
Dm7 D7 D7/C
Fill me with desire
G/B Am7 Bm7 Am7
To see you and to say
Am7/D Gmaj9 Am7/G
That I wish you Merry Christmas
Gmaj9
( Merry Christmas Darling )
Dm9 Fmaj7/G Db7+11 Cmaj7
Happy New Year to-o-o-o-o-o I’ve
(ahh ahhh ahhh
F G/F
just one wish
Em7
On this Christmas Eve
Em7 Am7
( On this Christmas eve )
Dm7 G7 C Bb7
I wish I were with you
Dm7 G7 G C
I wish I were with you
(merry Christmas merry Christmas)
Dm7 Fm7 Cmaj7
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas darling
Chord Breakdown
L.H. / R.H.
Dm7 = DC/F
Em = EGB/B
Am7 = AG/CE
Dm7 = DFA/C
G7 = GF/BG
C = C/CE
Am = AE/C
Am(maj7) = AG#/C
Am7 = AG/E
Am6 = AF#/C
Dm7 = DFA/C
G = GDG/B
Cmaj7 = CGB/G
Dm/C = CFA/D
Cmaj7 = CGB/E
Gm7 = GF/BbD
C7 = CE/C
F = FCF/AC
G/F = FDF/GB
Em = EGB/E
Am = AEA/C
Dm = DFA/C
Em = EGB/E
Dm/F = FA/D
G7 = GF/C
Cmaj = CGB/G
F = CFA
Cmaj7 = CGB/E
Gm = GF/BbD
F = FCF/AC
G/F = FDF/GB
Em = EGB/G
Am = AEA/C
D7/F# = F#A/C
Fm = FAb/CD
Bb7 = BbAb/Bb
2. Merry Christmas Darling
Am7 Bm7 Em7
Greeting cards have all been sent
Am7 D7 G G D/F# Em
The Christmas rush is through
Em(maj7) Em7 Em6
But I still have one wish to make
Am7 D Em D
A special one for you
Gmaj9 Am7/G
Merry Christmas, darling
Gmaj9 Dm9 Fmaj7/G
We're apart, that's true
Db9+11 Cmaj7 D/C
But I can dream
Bm7 Em7
And in my dreams
Am7 Bm7 Cmaj7 D7sus4 D7
I'm Christmas ing with you
Gmaj9 Am7/G
Holidays are joyful
Gmaj9 Dm9
There's always something new
Cmaj7 D/C Bm7 Em7 D6
But every day's a holi day
A/C# Cm6 F7
When I'm near to you
Bb C/Bb
The lights on my tree
Am7 Dm7
I wish you could see
Gm7 C7 F
I wish it every da-A-A-A-ay
( ahh ahh
C/E Dm Dm(maj7)
The logs on the fire
ahh ahh
Dm7 D7 D7/C
Fill me with de sire
G/B Am7 Bm7 Am7
To see you and to say
Am7/D Gmaj9 Am7/G
That I wish you Merry Christmas
Gmaj9
(Merry christmas darling)
Dm9 Fmaj7/G Db7+11
Happy New Year to-o-o-o
( ahh ahh ahh
Cmaj7 D/C
I've just one wish
Bm7
On this Christmas Eve
Em7 Am7
( On this Christmas eve)
Am7/D G
I wish I were with you
G/D
( Ahh ahh ahh
|Bb/F C/Bb |Am7 Dm7 |Gm7 C |
|F C/E| Dm Dm(maj7)
The logs on the fire
Dm7 D7 D7/C
Fill me with desire
G/B Am7 Bm7 Am7
To see you and to say
Am7/D Gmaj9 Am7/G
That I wish you Merry Christmas
Gmaj9
( Merry Christmas Darling )
Dm9 Fmaj7/G Db7+11 Cmaj7
Happy New Year to-o-o-o-o-o I’ve
(ahh ahhh ahhh
D/C
just one wish
Bm7
On this Christmas Eve
Em7 Am7
( On this Christmas eve )
D7 D7/C Bm7-5 E7+5 E7
I wish I were with you
Am7 Am7/D G
I wish I were with you
(merry Christmas merry Christmas)
Am9 Cm7 Cm7/F Gmaj9
Merry Christmas, merry Christmas darling
Tabs from ultimate-guitar.com
3. Merry Christmas, Darling
Merry Christmas Darling [Dmaj7 Em7]
We're apart that's true [Dmaj7 Em7 A7]
But I can dream and in my dreams, [G F#m D Bm]
I'm Christmas-ing with you. [Em F#m G A7]
Holidays are joyful [Dmaj7 Em7]
There's always something new [Dmaj7 Em7 A7]
But every day's A holiday [GF♯mDBm]
When I'm near to you [E7 A7]
The lights on my tree I wish you could see [Em7 A7 F#m Bm]
I wish it every day [G A D]
The logs on the fire fill me with desire [Bm Bm+7 Bm7 Bm6]
To see you and to say [Em F#m G A]
That I wish you a merry Christmas [Dmaj7 Em7]
Happy New Year, too [Dmaj7 Em7 A7]
I've just one wish on this Christmas Eve [G A7 F#m Bm]
I wish I were with you [G A7 F#m B7]
I wish I were with you [Em A7 D]
A wonderful resource to help your playing along, ChristmasKeys1
Have a wonderful Christmas season!
"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King
I love teaching beginners, young children, and adults. I offer piano lessons for ages 3-103 and all levels from primer to advanced. We have a blast with piano games, playing duets, learning songs and theory.
I offer private and group lessons. I am a WunderKeys piano teacher for preschoolers, 3-years-old to Kindergarten. We have 2 recitals, Fall and Spring.
Thank You!
I've Been Mentioned!
Billie
“If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.” – Billie Holiday
Beginners: How to play an entire song with only three-fingered major chords (...also known as "major triads").
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